Skin is the human body's largest organBody organs aren't all internal like the brain or the heart. There's one we wear on the outside. Skin is our largest organ-adults carry some 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) and 22 square feet (2 square meters) of it. This fleshy covering does a lot more than make us look presentable. In fact, without it, we'd literally evaporate

The average skin when stretched is 2 square metresIf the skin of a typical 150-pound (68-kilogram) adult male were stretched out flat, it would cover about 2 square yards (1.7 square meters) and weigh about
9 pounds (4 kilograms).

Skin accounts for around 15% of body weightThe skin consists of three main layers: epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue. The skin is the largest organ in the body, comprising about 15% of the body weight. In fact the skin is generally around 15-20% protein!

Every inch of skin has an exact stretchiness and strength for its location
For example, the skin on your knuckles is very different from the skin on your belly.

Every minute, skin sheds over 30000 dead cells
Your skin is composed of several layers. The layer you can see is called the epidermis.
It's composed of cells made of keratin, a hard substance that also forms your hair and nails.
In other species, keratin forms hooves, claws, horns, and even the shells of turtles and the spines
of porcupines. The individual cells are called keratinocytes.

New keratinocytes grow at the lowest level of the epidermis, which bonds with the next layer,
the dermis. The new skin cells gradually push their way to the top layer. When they reach the top,
they die and are "weathered" by the environment and your daily activities. The top "dead" layer is
called the stratum corneum. Eventually, the dead cells break away from the epidermis and fall off, making
room for newer cells growing up from below. It takes roughly one month for new cells to get all the way to
the top layer, meaning the skin you have a month from today will be completely new compared to the skin you
have now.

If you're wondering exactly how many skin cells fall off, get ready for some staggering
numbers. Scientists estimate that the human body is made up of around 10 trillion cells in total. Your skin
makes up about 16 percent of your body weight, which means you have roughly
1.6 trillion skin cells [source: BBC]. Of course, this estimate can vary tremendously according to a
person's size. The important thing is that you have a lot of skin cells. Of those billions of skin cells,
between 30,000 and 40,000 of them fall off every hour. Over a 24-hour period, you lose almost a million
skin cells.

Where do they all go? The dust that collects on your tables, TV, windowsills and on
those picture frames that are so hard to get clean is made mostly from dead human skin cells.
In other words, your house is filled with former bits of yourself. In one year, you'll shed more
than 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) of dead skin. It gets even more gross: Your house is also filled with
trillions of microscopic life forms called dust mites that eat your old dead skin.

1000 species and around 1,000,000,000,000 individual bacteria There are up to 1,000,000,000,000 bacteria on your body right now. Comprising of around 1000 species. A lot of the time the bacteria is actually beneficial as it stimulates the immune system of the body.

Skin colour is the result of protein called melanin
Melanocytes produce the melanin - the more thats produced, the darker the skin. A lack of melanocytes is also known as Albinism.

It takes up to six months for babies to develop their permanent skin toneBabies of all races and ethnicities are born with reddish-purple skin that changes to pinkish-red in a day or so. The pink tint comes from the red blood vessels that are visible through your baby's still-thin skin. Because your baby's blood circulation is still maturing, his hands and feet may be bluish for a few days. Over the next six months, your baby's skin will develop its permanent colour.

Lipids are natural fats that keep the outer layer of skin moist and healthy - these can be destroyed by detergents and alcoholThe fats on top of your skin are also a natural water barrier. They prevent too much moisture from escaping your skin. Without this skin barrier layer your vital internal organs would dry out and you would quickly die. So it's pretty important.

The thinnest skin is found on eyelids and the thickest on the soles of feetSkin on the eyelids is 0.02 mm thick and the thickest skin is found on the soles of your feet-1.4mm

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